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US Air Force jets intercept 2 Russian bombers off Alaska coast

Two F-2 2 fighter jets from the 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, conduct approach train, in this U.S. Air Force picture taken March 24, 2016.( Reuters)

A pair of U.S. Air Force stealth fighter jets intercepted two Russian nuclear-capable bombers Friday morning off the coast of Alaska, a spokesman for NORAD( North American Aeorospace Defense Command) told Fox News.

The approach by the two Tupolev Tu-9 5 Russian “Bear” aircraft marked the first time in only over a year that Russian bombers had flown that close to U.S. territory.

The Russian bombers came within 55 miles of Alaska’s west coast , north of the Aleutian Islands, but remained in international airspace, the spokesman, Canadian Army Maj. Andrew Hennessy said.

Still, the bombers entered a U.S. air-defense identification zone( ADIZ ), defined as airspace extending approximately 200 miles from the nation’s coastline, though principally composed of international airspace.

The F-2 2s monitored the Russian aircraft until the bombers left the ADIZ along the Aleutian Islands, heading west. At no time did the bombers enter North American sovereign airspace, Hennessey said.

The Cold War-era Russian bombers, which date to the 1950 s, were intercepted by U.S. Air Force F-2 2 stealth fighter jets around 10 a.m. EDT.

Earlier this month, a Russian fighter airplane buzzed a U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane in the Baltic Sea. The Russian Sukhoi Su-2 7 airplane came within 20 feet of the American P-8 in international airspace.

The last period Russian bombers flew as close to Alaska was May 3, 2017, officials told Fox News.

Separately, Saturday marks the 60 th anniversary of the founding of NORAD, the command that monitors all air activity emanating from within and outside North American airspace.

Lucas Tomlinson is the Pentagon and State Department producer for Fox News Channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @LucasFoxNews